Simply enough, how do you handle a combat where a defender is fighting two or more people, but they are not fighting in a group? If they were using group rules then I know how to handle it. If not, what happens? Does the defender get to make a defense roll for each of his attackers? Do his attackers, who are not fighting by the group rules get an advantage?

My own take on it is this. The defender makes one attack roll (and he chooses which one he's attacking), and one defense roll which applies to both/all of his attackers. His two (or more) attackers each get an attack roll, and only the one that was attacked by the defender needs to make a defense roll. Their attack rolls each receive a bonus equal to the number of attackers ganging up on someone. In this case they'd each get a +2.

Now in group rules, the defender is considered the Vanguard, and his group of one can score one hit per round maximum, and any time the other group's Vanguard hits him, he takes two hits. The other group of two has one Vanguard who will take all the hits the defender scores. The difference between these two fights is that the defender can be hit 0, 1, or 2 times in the first example, and only 0 or 2 times in the group rules and the group gets no attack bonus. And the defender has a choice of targets in the first example, and can only attack the vanguard in the second.

What do you think?

If they are fighting as seperate people (by not using the group rules), then they have no advantage (or disadvantage) by being more than one (other than getting more strikes than the defender).

The attackers each roll to hit at their own initiative, and the defender rolls (seperatly to defend against each of them).

The system is intended to make fighting as a group at least as good (better, in the case of trained groups), as fighting alone.

Not speaking for the game rules but speaking as someone who trained in Karate for five years in reality fighting multiple opponents is not nearly so hard as people think IF they have no training in fighting together. The reason is that you always know what you will do, but they don't know what the other person (or persons) will do. This means they are as likely to foul each others attack as help each other. Also assuming you have space to move it is always possible to get them both infront of you. Even if they start say with one behind and one infront or on either side.

So treat each attacker seperately and you are doing something quite close to realistic. You might want to allow only a single defence roll and use the result against both opponents though...in principle if you trip, fall and land on your butt...well you did it for both of them. And if you do a brillant job against one, its likely the same against the other.

Tested it out last night and it worked pretty well. When it's only two on one, the bonus I mentioned is slight and typically will not cause a great change in the fight. But when there is 3 or 4 people ganging up, then the bonus can be significant. No matter how good you are, fighting three and four people is tough. I had the defender make only one attack and defense roll, the defense roll applying to all. You can still get a greater bonus though by fighting in a group with a leader, and make one good roll by having a skilled vanguard.

If the players in my game ever decide to go to group rules I will be dropping this option. For the moment since they're unskilled anyway this is working out well.